Your Faith Will Put You On Center Stage!

Partly, whilst ye were made a gazing stock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used.
— Hebrews 10:33

Have you ever taken a stand of faith that made you the biggest joke in your church, among your friends, in your city, or in your state? When people heard what you believed that God told you, did they laugh? Did they find the dream God gave you to be one of the most amusing things they had ever heard, endlessly joking about it at your expense? Did you find their response humiliating and hurtful, or were you able to shove it aside and keep marching forward with the orders Jesus gave you?

When the writer of Hebrews wrote his letter, the Jewish believers to whom he was writing had been walking by faith for many years. He reminded them of how people first responded when they started their walk of faith. He said, “Partly, whilst ye were made a gazing stock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used” (Hebrews 10:33).

Do you see the word “gazing stock” in this verse? It comes from the Greek word theatron, from which we get the word theater. It means to observe, to watch, to study, to scrutinize, or to bring upon the stage for all to see. It is a picture of spectators taking their seats in the theater to watch how the play goes, all the way through Act I, Act II, Act III, and Act IV. However, if we look at this word in the context of this verse, we can see that this audience isn’t watching to see how good the show is; they are watching in order to catch the players making a mistake!

This crowd is on the edge of their seats, anticipating the first time one of the actors makes a mistake or forgets a line so they can laugh at him, scorn him, ridicule him, and make fun of him. In fact, one expositor says the Greek word theatron in this verse means to bring on to the stage in order to scorn, to scoff at, to shame, to sneer at, and to publicly humiliate.

It is so important that this word was used here, for the Holy Spirit is alerting us to the fact that whether you and I like it or not, when we take a step of faith or a new stand on the Word of God, it almost always puts us “center stage”! We may not be known by thousands, but our faith confession or our announced plans will become the dinner conversation among friends, family, associates, and foes. Everyone will seem to develop an opinion as to whether we are overstepping our boundaries by taking on something too big for us, or whether we will be able to fulfill our dream.

You’ll be amazed at how many of the people you thought would believe in you and support you instead buy a ticket to the show with everyone else, taking a seat in the theater to watch how well you fare with your new grand announcement! It’s just a fact that there will always be spectators who stand by, eagerly anticipating the moment they can laugh at you or say, “We told you so!” when you make your first mistake in your walk of faith. Unfortunately, many times these spectators are not unbelievers, but believers!

Because the word theatron is used in this verse, an expanded translation of this verse could read this way:

“You were made a theater.…”
“You became a spectacle of entertainment.…”
“On account of your faith, you became the best show in town….”

Hebrews 10:33 also uses two other very important words that are key for you to understand. These are the words “reproaches” and “afflictions.” The word “reproach” is the Greek word oneidismos, and it refers to insults hurled at you from other people. This is precisely what they did to Jesus when He was on the Cross. That Cross literally put Jesus on the center stage of the universe. Rather than applauding Him for what He was doing for mankind, the people “reproached” Him. In other words, they threw insults and slanderous accusations at Him.

When you take a strong stand by faith or when the Holy Spirit convicts you about staying true to a principle in God’s Word, Satan will do everything within his power to coax you to move off that stance of faith. He’ll use family members, friends, associates, and even circumstances to thwart the plan of God for your life. The devil will use people you know and love to say things that simply shock you! This is his attempt to get you to back off the promise you have received. But if you are certain you are doing what God told you to do, don’t budge an inch, no matter how much verbal opposition you encounter!

But Paul says that in addition to the verbal abuse that people may hurl at you, the devil will also try to use “afflictions” to stop you! The word “afflictions” is from the Greek word thlipsis, which refers to a tight squeeze or terrible pressure. This describes how the devil will try to use circumstances and events in life to put you under so much pressure that you eventually break, throwing in the towel and giving up. This word thlipsis indicates that the devil may try to use everything around you to shut you down when you step out in faith to obey what God has instructed you to do.

Satan doesn’t hide in the closet and pop out at night to personally attack us while we’re sleeping! Because he is the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4), he uses the world to do battle with us. In other words, he uses people, events, situations, circumstances, and difficult dilemmas to obstruct us from reaching our goals.

But regardless of what weapon the enemy uses or how he attempts to combat you and me, we have a faith that overrides and supersedes any organization, any event, any circumstance, or any difficult dilemma Satan would try to employ against us. He may be the “god of this world,” but we have a weapon so powerful that we can shoot him down every time he shows up uninvited!

So when you find yourself on center stage in front of people who are watching your walk of faith as if it were the newest show in town, don’t let this situation take you by surprise or throw you off track from your assignment. Ignore it. And if problems emerge as you step out in faith, don’t let that shake you either. You shouldn’t automatically assume that problems are indicators you are doing something wrong. They may be indicators that you are doing something right and that Satan hates it!

Ask the Spirit of God to help you stay on track. Don’t budge an inch, and refuse to yield or give any territory to the devil. It’s time for you to stay put, ignore the opposition, and hold tight!

My Prayer for Today

Lord, help me keep my eyes and ears fixed on You and not on what I see and hear coming from people and circumstances around me. I believe that Your Word is true; therefore, I am standing firm on Your promise to me. Regardless of what people say or do, I choose to follow You! Please help me to stay put and to ignore other people’s verbal accusations as I hold tightly to Your Word.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

My Confession for Today

I boldly declare that I will not move from the promise Jesus made to me! His Word is true, and His timing is right. Therefore, I am staying put until I see the manifestation of what I have believed! Although the devil tries to use people and circumstances to move me, I refuse to be moved from what Jesus has promised me! 

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Questions to Answer

1. Can you think of a time when you took a step of faith that put you on center stage in most people’s minds? Did you feel like everyone bought a ticket to the show and took their seats to watch, to scrutinize, and to criticize?

2. As you sincerely review your own past, can you think of a time in your life when you became the cynic and critic of someone who took a step of faith? If your answer is yes, is it possible that you are now reaping what you sowed and that you need to repent for being critical in the past of others who took similar steps of faith?

3. Do you have a faith-filled circle of friends who are standing with you and who are supporting you as you take this step of faith? Can you name those friends who are standing with you?

…For he dwelleth with you and shall be in you….
— John 14:17

Today I want to return to that night in the Upper Room when Jesus taught His disciples about the ministry of the Holy Spirit. As the disciples sat and listened attentively, Jesus explained that the Holy Spirit had been with them all along, but soon would be in them. As they had ministered at Jesus’ side, the disciples had experienced an atmosphere of the anointing and had temporary moments when the Spirit of God would come upon them. However, they had never experienced the Holy Spirit living inside them.

Up to that moment in history, the Holy Spirit had only taken up permanent residence inside one Person — Jesus. Even the prophets, priests, and kings in the Old Testament never knew this glorious privilege. Under the Old Covenant, the Holy Spirit might temporarily come upon people to specially empower them for ministry and service, but this anointing was temporary.

So when Jesus told His disciples in John 14:17 that the Holy Spirit “shall be in you,” it was a mighty statement! The phrase “shall be in you” is translated from the Greek words en humin, which can only be translated in you. At first glance, this may seem simple, but remember that the Holy Spirit had never before lived inside a human being. This was Jesus declaring that for the first time in human history, the Spirit of God was going to literally come inside believers and abide there! His presence would no longer be temporary or fleeting, as people in the Old Testament had experienced. The Holy Spirit was going to take up residency and dwell inside them permanently — to never move, never waver, and never pack His bags and leave for another location.

Prior to this statement in John 14:17, Jesus had described the Holy Spirit’s role as a “Comforter” (v.16). As we saw in previous Sparkling Gems (June 2-6), this word is the Greek term parakletos, meaning one called alongside them. Now He takes it a step further and affirms that the Holy Spirit would actually live “in” them.

This is a central truth of the New Testament: If you have repented of sin and surrendered to the Lordship of Christ, then you have been born again and the Holy Spirit has come to live inside you. This is why the apostle Paul wrote, “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19).

I like to say it this way — your heart was never meant to be a hotel. God never intended for the Holy Spirit to be your Guest. The Holy Spirit has come to stay as a permanent Resident inside your heart, and He will be with you for the rest of your life. This is yet another reason why you should develop your partnership with Him. He has moved in, taken up residence, and is committed to staying with you until that glorious day when you are ultimately relocated to Heaven itself!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, I thank You that the Holy Spirit is not a temporary Guest, but a permanent Resident inside my heart. Help me to remember this and to live my life in a way that honors His indwelling presence. Help me to live with the constant awareness that He is with me always. I am so thankful that He does not come and go and that He is not a fleeting relationship in my life. Help me to cultivate my fellowship with Him until I come to know Him deeply in my life on a practical level.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

 

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I acknowledge and declare that God’s Spirit dwells permanently inside my heart. He will never waver or pack His bags to move to another location. My heart is not meant to be a hotel, but rather a permanent residence for the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not a temporary Guest — He has come to indwell my heart for the rest of my life! He has moved in, taken up residence, and is committed to staying with me until I am ultimately relocated to Heaven itself!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

1. Have you ever thought about how glorious it is that your heart is not a temporary location for the Holy Spirit, but rather His permanent dwelling place?
2. How should the awareness that your heart is the Holy Spirit’s permanent dwelling place affect the way you live your life?
3. What kind of condition is your heart in for Him? What renovations do you need to make in your heart to make it more accommodating to Him, considering the Holy Spirit already lives inside you?

And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us…. Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.
— Matthew 9:27,29

Today I want to further highlight Jesus’ own supernatural partnership with the Holy Spirit. It’s so important to grasp the fact that Jesus depended entirely on the Holy Spirit’s guidance during His earthly ministry as He preached and performed miracles throughout the land. And with that in mind, let’s focus in on this truth: Everything Jesus did in His earthly ministry worked! Every single sick person He laid hands on was healed. Every demon He cast out of a possessed person left for good. Even the dead rose to His command! His rate of success was 100 percent.

What was the key to Jesus’ success? Just this: He never took action unless He knew the Father through His Spirit was leading Him to do so. Jesus never attempted to heal a sick person, cast out a demon, or raise the dead without first knowing that He was doing what He saw the Father do (see John 5:19).

An interesting example of Jesus’ spiritual partnership with the Holy Spirit can be found in the account of the two blind beggars in Matthew 9:27-31. As it is related in this passage, two beggars heard Jesus walking by them and began to cry out to Him for healing. However, instead of stopping to heal them, Jesus continued on His way without even acknowledging their presence. As a result, verse 27 states they “…followed him, crying and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us.” Even though they were blind and couldn’t see where they were going, these beggars were determined to follow Jesus until they got His attention, and the Bible says they were “crying.” This word “crying” is the Greek word kradzo, which means to scream, to yell, to exclaim, or to cry out. In other words, the two blind beggars were exerting every ounce of their hearts and their efforts into using their mouths to make a sound that would cause Jesus to turn His attention on them so they get Jesus’ attention!

Think about this situation for a moment. It is a very unusual depiction of Jesus. There were two blind men who desperately wanted to be healed and were crying out to get Jesus’ attention. Yet instead of stopping to help them, Jesus just continued on His way as though they weren’t even there. Still they pursued Him relentlessly. Groping along in their darkness, the blind men screamed, yelled, and cried out at the top of their lungs: “Have mercy on us! Have mercy on us! Have mercy on us!” There was no way that Jesus didn’t hear their cries, but He didn’t stop to acknowledge their existence.

In Matthew 9:28, we see that these blind beggars followed Him all the way to the house where He was staying and continued to cry out, “Son of David, have mercy on us!” Finally, Jesus came outside and addressed them, “Do you believe that I can do this?” They answered, “Yea, Lord.” Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith be it unto you,” and their eyes were immediately opened (v. 30).

Although this passage of Scripture relates the story of a mighty healing miracle, it perplexed me for many years. Why didn’t Jesus acknowledge them? Why didn’t He immediately turn to heal them when He learned of their blind condition? What were the reasons behind His hesitation?

After meditating on this subject, I came to a realization. The only answer possible is that Jesus evidently did not sense the leading of the Holy Spirit in that moment to restore sight to those men. Otherwise, He would have stopped to do it, because as Jesus stated in John 5:19, He did only whatever He saw the Father do, regardless of His own inclinations. The good news is that those men were able to use their own faith to be healed, anyway, and their sight was miraculously restored. In fact, it is almost as if Jesus told them, “You are going to have to receive this on your own. Be it unto you according to your own faith.”

Usually we think of the Holy Spirit leading us to do something; however, in the case of the two blind beggars, Jesus was led to do nothing. If He had been led to heal them, He would have healed them immediately, just as He had done on countless other instances.

So often we get caught up in following our own plans and miss out entirely on what the Holy Spirit is attempting to do and say through us. We get the ball rolling on a project, and then after our program is already well underway, we pray and ask God to bless what we have initiated — assuming it was His will in the first place. No wonder we often have such poor results! We must learn to let the Holy Spirit lead us just as He led Jesus.

If the Holy Spirit leads us to action, we should act — but if there is no leading, we should do nothing. Sometimes doing nothing is the right thing to do! I can think of many instances when I saw something that was a good idea — something I thought someone should do — but I felt no unction to do it, and knew I would be wrong if I did it. In those cases, someone else had to use his or her faith to get it done, and ultimately that task was completed — but by someone else, not me.

I’m sure that when Jesus first saw those two blind beggars, He felt tugged by compassion to immediately reach out and heal them. However, He did only what He saw the Father doing, and He initiated nothing without first being led by the Holy Spirit. That is why His success rate was 100 percent!

Instead of jumping into action every time you see a need, learn to put on the brakes, stop yourself for a moment, and wait until the Holy Spirit speaks clearly to your heart. It may seem as though this way of doing things takes longer, but the end results will be far more rewarding and long-lasting if you adopt Jesus’ approach and rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit rather than just going with your own preplanned program. You’ll find that your success rate will increase dramatically!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, I ask You to help me learn to be keenly sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit — paying attention not just to when I should take action, but also to when I should do nothing. I’ve never thought about the Holy Spirit leading me to do nothing, but I can see that sometimes it is not His will for me to take action because He wants to work in a different way, at a different time, or through someone else. I admit that I’ve often assumed I knew what the Holy Spirit wanted me to do and then acted presumptuously without even praying. Now I under- stand why my success rate has not been as high as I desire. Help me be like Jesus — taking action only when the Holy Spirit is leading.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

 

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I confess that I am led by the Holy Spirit and that I refuse to jump into action simply because I see something that needs to be done or because I am aware of a need that should be met. I put on the brakes; I listen; and I wait for the Holy Spirit to speak to my heart. Because I take action when He speaks to me and I do exactly what He tells me to do, I experience His supernatural power and supernatural results in my life. I confess that I will endeavor to do things the way Jesus did — doing only what He knew was being initiated by the Father and the Holy Spirit!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

1. Can you think of an instance when you assumed you were supposed to take action, but in actuality, the Holy Spirit had not led you to do anything at all?
2. Can you recall other times in the four gospels when Jesus didn’t heal someone? What do you learn about being led by the Holy Spirit by studying those examples?
3. Have you ever done something out of compulsion? Perhaps you thought this task needed to be done and it cost you a lot, but ultimately it produced no results. As you look back on that experience, what did you learn from it?

The Rank and File Of Satan’s Kingdom

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
— Ephesians 6:12

I realize that many people tend to think that screaming, yelling, screeching, stomping, and shouting are required to defeat the devil. However, these actions will accomplish nothing if those same people are not living a consecrated and holy life.

It is simply a fact that if we have deliberately or by negligence allowed sinful strongholds to secretly remain in our lives, then we have left gaping holes through which Satan may continue to insert his schemes into our lives. Negligence in dealing with these secret places may give Satan the very loopholes he needs to orchestrate our defeat!

This business of spiritual warfare is serious! We must do all we can to shut every door to our souls through which the devil might attempt to access our lives. Because this issue is so serious, we would do well to pay attention when the Bible offers us information about the enemy of our souls. The devil has destroyed too many Christians who were ignorant of his devices!

In Ephesians 6:12, the apostle Paul presents a divine revelation he received that describes how Satan’s kingdom has been militarily aligned. He writes, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

Notice that at the top of this list, Paul mentions a group of evil spirits he calls “principalities.” This word is taken from the Greek word archai, an old word that is used symbolically to denote ancient times. It is also used to depict individuals who hold the highest and loftiest position of rank and authority. By using the word archai, Paul emphatically tells us that at the very top of Satan’s kingdom are powerful evil beings that have held their lofty positions of power and authority since ancient times — probably ever since the fall of Lucifer.

Paul goes on to tell us that below principalities is a second group of evil beings he refers to as “powers.” This word “powers” is taken from the Greek word exousia, and it denotes delegated authority. This describes a lower, second-level group of evil beings — demon spirits — who have received delegated authority from Satan to carry out all manner of evil in whatever way they desire to do it. These evil forces are second in command in Satan’s dark kingdom.

Continuing in his description of Satan’s rank and file in descending order, Paul mentions “the rulers of the darkness of this world.” This amazing phrase is taken from the word kosmokrateros and is a compound of the words kosmos and kratos. The word kosmos denotes order or arrangement, whereas the word kratos has to do with raw power. Thus, the compounded word kosmokrateros depicts raw power that has been harnessed and put into some kind of order.

This word kosmokrateros was at times used to picture military training camps where young men were assembled, trained, and turned into a mighty army. These young men were like raw power when they first arrived in the training camp. However, as the military training progressed and the new recruits were taught discipline and order, all that raw manpower was converted into an organized, disciplined army. This is the word Paul now uses in his description of Satan’s kingdom. What does it mean?

It tells you and me that Satan is so serious about doing damage to the human race that he deals with demon spirits as though they are troops! He puts them in rank and file, gives them orders and assignments, and then sends them out like military soldiers who are committed to kill. Just as men in a human army are equipped and trained in their methods of destruction, so, too, are these demon spirits. And once these demons are trained and ready to start their assault, Satan sends them forth to do their devious work against human beings.

Paul makes reference to this dispatch of evil spirits when he writes next about “spiritual wickedness in high places.” The word “wickedness” is taken from the word poneros, and it is used to depict something that is bad, vile, malevolent, vicious, impious, and malignant. This tells us the ultimate aim of Satan’s dark domain: These evil spirits are sent forth to afflict humanity in bad, vile, malevolent, and vicious ways!

Satan uses all these evil forces in his attacks against mankind. Nevertheless, we believers have far more authority and power than the devil and his forces. You and I have the Greater One living within us! As members of the Church of Jesus Christ, we are loaded with heaps and heaps of raw power, for the Church has no shortage of power, nor is it deficient in God-given authority. We have more power and more authority than all these evil forces combined!

What we lack is order and discipline. We must learn to see ourselves as the army of God and to view the local church as the training center where we are taught to do God’s business. Then we must heed the call of Jesus and be dispatched into the dark world to preach the Gospel and to drive these evil forces from people’s lives. We must buckle down and begin to view ourselves as the troops of Jesus Christ!

Being organized and disciplined includes living a holy and consecrated life. There is no room for slackness in the life of a real Christian soldier. To deal with these forces that are being dispatched to destroy us and the world around us, it is required that we walk with God and listen to the voice of His Spirit. We must gird up the loins of our minds and fill our thoughts with the Word of God. Satan’s troops are serious — and if we’re not serious about our contest with them, it will only be a matter of time until they discover our weakness and strike with all their force to bring us down.

Determine to see yourself as a soldier in the army of God. Don’t allow anything to remain in your life that would hinder your fight of faith. Be disciplined, committed, and organized. Take advantage of all the weapons described in Ephesians 6:13-18. Then get ready to witness the awesome demonstration of God’s power in your life as you prevail against Satan’s rank and file!

My Prayer for Today

Lord, help me start seeing myself as a mighty soldier in the army of God. You have provided every weapon I need to prevail against the enemies that come against my life, my family, my business, my friends, and my church. I want to stand tall and firm against the wicked plots the devil tries to exert against people’s lives whom I love and need. Holy Spirit, give me the power and strength I need to successfully resist every attack and to drive all dark forces from my life and from the lives of those close to me!

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

My Confession for Today

I confess that I live a holy and consecrated life! There is no room for slackness in my life. I am serious about serving God as a real Christian soldier. I do everything that is required for me to walk with God and to hear the voice of His Spirit when He speaks to me. I am very serious about winning every conflict with evil forces. Because of my strong commitment to this fight of faith, I am more than a match for anything the devil tries to throw at me!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Questions to Answer

1. What did you learn by reading today’s Sparkling Gem?

2. Do you see yourself as a soldier in the army of God?

3. Do you view your local church as a place for you to be trained, taught, and disciplined in order to become a better Christian soldier?

Spiritual Warfare Is Real!

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
— Ephesians 6:12

Spiritual warfare is real! The devil and his demon spirits are not myths or fantasies. These are real beings that hate the human race and therefore roam about seeking whom they might destroy and devour. That’s why it is vitally important to know how to best protect yourself against their attacks!

Most of the attacks the devil wages against you will occur in your mind. He knows that your mind is the central control center for your life; therefore, if he can take control of one small area of your mind, he can begin to expand outward into other weak areas that need to be strengthened by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. By poisoning your mind with unbelief and lying strongholds, the devil can then manipulate not only your mind, but also your emotions and your body. There is no doubt about it — the mind is the strategic center where the battle is won or lost in spiritual warfare!

The devil wants to get access into your life — and if he finds that access, you may be headed for quite a conflict! You can see why it is so important that you keep every door shut; then the enemy won’t be able to find any entrance through which he can begin to wage warfare against you.

However, the devil will often put up quite a fight even when he doesn’t find an entrance into our lives. That’s why we need to know exactly what the Bible says about spiritual warfare.

In Ephesians 6:12, Paul told us, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” I want to especially draw your attention to the word “wrestle” in this verse, for this word is the key to understanding how intense spiritual warfare can become!

The word “wrestle” is from the old Greek word pale, which refers to struggling, wrestling, or hand-to-hand combat. However, the word pale is also the Greek word from which the Greeks derived their name for the Palaestra — a huge palace of combat sports that was situated in the center of most larger, ancient cities.

The Palaestra was a huge building that outwardly looked like a palace but was dedicated to the cultivation of athletic skills. Every morning, afternoon, and night, the most committed, determined, and daring athletes of the day could be found in this fabulous building, working out and training for their respective sports. Three kinds of athletes primarily worked out at the Palaestra: boxers, wrestlers, and pankratists.

Let me tell you a little about how these sports functioned in the first century when Paul wrote this verse, because it forms the backdrop to the word “wrestle” in Ephesians 6:12. The first and most feared combat sport was boxing. But the boxers from the first century were not like our boxers today. Their sport was extremely violent — so violent that they were not permitted to box without wearing helmets. Without the protection of helmets, their heads would have been crushed! In fact, this sport was so severe that few boxers ever lived to retire from their profession. Most of them died in the ring. Of all the sports, the ancients viewed boxing as the most hazardous and deadly.

In this brutal and barbaric sport, the ancient boxers wore gloves ribbed with steel and spiked with nails. At times the steel wrapped around their gloves was serrated, like the blade of a hunting knife, in order to make deep gashes in the opponent’s skin. In addition to this, they used extremely heavy gloves that made every punch more damaging. It is quite usual to find artwork from the time of the ancient Greeks that includes boxers whose faces, ears, and noses are totally deformed from being struck by these dangerous gloves.

Making this sport even more dangerous was the fact that there were no rules — except that a boxer couldn’t clench his opponent’s fist. That was the only rule of the game! There were no “rounds” like there are in boxing today. The fight just went on and on until one of the two surrendered or died in the ring.

Next, there were wrestlers! Wrestling was the most ancient of the combat sports. Because it was an essential part of the education of Roman boys in the wealthier classes, every adult male in those classes learned to wrestle. However, combat-sport wrestling was very different than simple wrestling. Although not quite as ugly and bloody as the other two combat sports, combat wrestling was still very aggressive and dangerous. Certain rules applied to the competitions of this combat sport. For instance, some of the most violent fighting techniques weren’t allowed in wrestling, such as blows, kicks, thrusts, throttle holds, twisting of the joints, and fighting on the ground.

The third combat sport was pankration, from the Greek words pan and kratos. The word pan means all, and kration is from the word kratos, which means power. When these two words were put together, they formed the word pankration, which means all powerful. These fighters were the fiercest, toughest, and most committed of all! In this sport, they were permitted to kick, punch, bite, gouge, strike, break fingers, break legs, and to do any other horrible thing you could imagine. There was no part of the human body that was off limits. They could do anything they wanted to any part of their competitor’s body, for there were basically no rules.

An early inscription from a father to his sons who participated in pankration says this: “If you should hear your son has died, you can believe it. But if you hear he has been defeated and chose to retire, do not believe it!” Why? Because like the other combat sports, pankration was extremely violent. While participating in this sport, more professional pankratists died than surrendered or were simply defeated.

I realize that these are very graphic images, but they are also very important images, for they are all contained in the word “wrestle” that Paul uses in Ephesians 6:12. In the day when Paul wrote this letter, everyone who saw the Greek word pale (“wrestle”) saw all these images in their minds. You can see, then, that this was a powerful, pungent word for Paul to use when he started to describe our conflict with unseen, demonic powers that Satan has marshaled together to try to destroy us. By using the word “wrestle” from the Greek word pale, Paul was telling every reader (and us) that spiritual warfare can be a bitter struggle and an intense conflict.

This first phrase in Ephesians 6:12 really carries this idea:

“For our wrestling — that is, our intense struggle, fierce combat, contest, challenge, and ongoing conflict — is not really with flesh and blood, but with….”

Then Paul goes on to describe the different levels of demonic powers that exist in Satan’s kingdom. As we look at what Paul said, I want you to see that this conflict can be fierce! I don’t mean to alarm you, but you need to know that the devil is serious in his attempts to destroy you — and if you haven’t prepared yourself spiritually to thwart such attacks, you may find yourself in a real quandary.

You see, our adversary is real. There are foul forces of darkness that work covertly behind most disasters and many moral failures. However, these demonic spirits can’t do anything unless our flesh cooperates with them! They may come to tempt, to seduce, to deceive, and to assault the mind — but unless they find a partner to listen or cooperate with them, their evil attempts are futile and powerless.

Therefore, the greatest key to winning every battle the devil wages against you is to keep your mind dominated by the Word of God. As you do that, your flesh will be kept under the control of the Holy Spirit, which will block the majority of the enemy’s attacks against your mind! This is why Peter urges us to “…gird up the loins of your mind…” (1 Peter 1:13).

Remember, the devil knows that if he can take control of one small area of your mind, he can begin to expand outward into other weak areas of your life. Therefore, don’t you think it’s time for you to start reading your Bible and filling your mind with God’s thoughts? There is no better mental protection against the enemy’s strategies than to fill your brain with God’s Word! It will strengthen you and keep your mind free from unbelief and lying strongholds.

So take God’s Word deep into your mind, and stop the devil from finding access into your life. Do everything you can to shut every door. Don’t give the enemy any entrance through which he can begin to wage warfare against you!

My Prayer for Today

Lord, I don’t want to ever give the devil access to my mind. I ask for forgiveness for the times I’ve permitted wrong thinking to go on inside me when I knew it was wrong. Now I understand that these are the areas through which the devil seeks to find entrance into my life. Starting today, I am asking You to help me locate each “open door” in my mind; then help me seal those doors shut by the power of Your Spirit and Your Word!

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

My Confession for Today

I confess that my mind is dominated by the Word of God and that I am under the control of the Holy Spirit! I gird up the loins of my mind by reading my Bible and filling my mind with God’s thoughts. God’s Word strengthens me and keeps my mind free from unbelief and lying strongholds. I take God’s Word deep into my mind, and it stops the devil from finding access into my life! 

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Questions to Answer

1. Can you think of any “open doors” in your mind right now through which the devil finds access into your life? Write down the “open doors” you need to shut immediately in order to stop the enemy’s attacks.

2. Now that you have identified these areas, what are you going to do to seal them shut so the devil’s access to your life is stopped?

3. Are you able to do this on your own, or do you need to ask someone to help you with prayer and daily encouragement? If you need help, ask the Holy Spirit to show you whom you should talk to. Then boldly go to that person and ask for his or her assistance.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
— Romans 8:14

When I was a young boy, I used to play a game with my sister and childhood friends called “Follow the Leader.” The rules of the game dictated that the leader had absolute authority to tell us what to do. I always wanted to be the leader, but my older sister would always end up in that coveted leadership role. The leader said what we could play, who would clean the house, and so on. We basically did whatever he or she told us to do. No wonder my older sister always wanted to be the leader!

When I think back on those playtime experiences as a boy, I am reminded of Romans 8:14, where the apostle Paul talks about following the leadership of the Holy Spirit. He wrote, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” In Greek, the sentence structure is actually reversed, so that it reads, “For as many as by the Spirit of God are being led, they are the sons of God.” It puts the Holy Spirit at the first of the verse, and we are placed behind Him — a picture of our responsibility as children of God to “follow the Leader.”

The Greek word for “led” is ago, which simply means to lead. However, I want to point out that this word is also the root for the Greek word agon, which describes an intense conflict, such as a struggle in a wrestling match or a struggle of the human will. Thus, we see that although the Holy Spirit wants to lead us, our human will doesn’t like the idea of being led. The flesh always distrusts guidance or instruction given by a person in a position of authority, and it’s human nature to want to call the shots and lead the way. Whether young or old, most people don’t like the idea of being led. When I played “Follow the Leader” as a child, I didn’t like being led by my sister and being told what to do. I’d rather have been in charge myself and called the shots as I saw them!

In the same way, when we make the decision to allow the Holy Spirit to dictate the course of our lives, it often produces a struggle between our will and our flesh. However, as children of God, we must learn to subdue the complaints of our flesh and stay in our place — behind the Holy Spirit as followers. We’re not to be out front directing the Holy Spirit; we are to go behind Him, following His leading, direction, and guidance. The mark of a mature believer is his or her ability to sense where the Lord is leading and then to follow that leading.

The fact that the Greek word for “led” is also the root of the Greek word for struggle tells us that we will have to deal with our flesh as we begin to rely fully on the Holy Spirit as our Coach and Guide. Our flesh wants to control our lives, so we must say no to it and allow the Holy Spirit to have His way. Regardless of how great the struggle seems, this process of trusting the Holy Spirit’s leadership is the only way to live a supernatural Christian life.

In a certain sense, we should make it our goal to be “tagalongs” to the Holy Spirit. We should continually follow along to see what He is doing, where He is going, and how He is leading — and then we should obey His leading implicitly. Just as Jesus emulated the Father’s actions, we must be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit and then follow His cues. In other words, we must “be led by the Spirit,” which is both the responsibility and benefit of being a child of God. To become the mature Christians God wants us to be, we must have this practical relationship with the Holy Spirit.

The leading of the Holy Spirit is often subtle, taking the form of an impression or nudging in our hearts to do something. However, His leading can also be more dramatic, such as through a prophecy, dream, or vision, or simply through a voice speaking clearly to our spirits.

The truth is, learning to know the voice of the Holy Spirit and being led by Him should be one of your primary concerns as a growing, maturing child of God. It’s all part of that lifelong pursuit to know Him and the power of His resurrection as you press toward the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, I want to learn how to become a “tagalong” behind the leadership of the Holy Spirit. I know You sent the Holy Spirit to be my supernatural Coach — but that His Help is only a reality to me if I choose to obey His leading. I admit that I have often struggled with obedience, and I ask You to forgive me. I really want to obey. Today I ask You to give me the strength of will and the inward surrender of heart to trust and obey the Holy Spirit and do exactly what He is trying to lead me to do.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

 

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I declare that I am tuned in to the Spirit of God and that I boldly obey whatever He instructs me to do. Fear and lack of trust do not dictate my obedience to the Holy Spirit. He is the Spirit of truth. He will never mislead me or misguide me, and I am confident of His leadership over my life. Even when I do not understand the reasons why He is leading me in a certain way, I choose to obey Him. He is the Spirit of truth. Therefore, I am confident that He is directing me into the perfect will of God for every sphere of my life.

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

1. Can you truthfully say that you are a consistent “tagalong” who follows behind the Holy Spirit? Or do you find that most of the time you are out front, trying to direct Him as to what should be happening in your life?
2. Have you ever experienced an inner struggle after making a decision to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit? Perhaps He nudged you to do something — or to refrain from doing something — and you found it very difficult to do so, even though you were certain it was His divine leading?
3. Have you ever experienced a struggle when the Holy Spirit instructed you to witness to someone, but you found it difficult to obey? Or perhaps you sensed the Holy Spirit’s leading to give a sacrificial offering, and your flesh put up a fight against His instruction in your heart. Can you think of other instances where you had to mortify your flesh in order to obey what the Holy Spirit was directing you to do or not to do?

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter; that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth….
— John 14:16,17

As you’re learning more about the ministry of the Holy Spirit in these June Sparkling Gems, you may have thought at some point, Following the direction of the Holy Spirit at this deeper level is a little unsettling for me. Honestly, it sounds a little scary to stop trying to manage the situations of life and entrust myself completely to His leadership. I can’t even see Him! What is my guarantee that I can understand how to hear or to follow Him when the Holy Spirit attempts to lead me?

These are reasonable questions to ask if you’re not used to the idea of partnering with the Holy Spirit. In fact, when Jesus first told His disciples about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, similar doubts were probably swirling around in their minds. That’s why Jesus made sure to take the time during His last night on earth to assuage their fears and give them a divine guarantee regarding the ministry of the Holy Spirit. In John 14:16 and 17, He said, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter; that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of Truth.…”

Notice that Jesus called the Holy Spirit “the Spirit of Truth” in this verse. This is the first of three instances where Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as “the Spirit of Truth” over the course of His teaching in John chapters 14-16 (see John 15:26 and John 16:13). Three different times in three chapters! By repeating this phrase over and over again, Jesus was driving a truth into His disciples’ hearts — that the Holy Spirit is utterly trustworthy and would never mislead them or misguide them.

In each instance where Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as “the Spirit of Truth,” the word “truth” is a translation of the Greek word alethes, which describes something that can be depended upon or something that is trustworthy, reliable, and true. In the Old Testament Septuagint, this term often denotes something that is faithful, sure, stable, and firm, as opposed to something that is unreliable and uncertain. In addition, the word alethes is used in the gospels to depict the uncovering of truth as opposed to the deliberate hiding of truth. Taken together, these meanings emphatically show that Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would always be trustworthy, reliable, and true. The disciples could rest assured that the Holy Spirit would never deliberately conceal information from them that was vital for them to know.

When Jesus used the word truth to describe the Holy Spirit, it was the equivalent of saying, “You don’t need to worry that He will lead you astray or that He will lead you wrongly. You can depend upon Him and you can trust Him.” Jesus wanted the disciples to relax and understand that they could depend on the Holy Spirit to lead them correctly.

Many believers have a hard time following the leading of the Holy Spirit because they can’t see Him or physically hear His voice. They say, “Oh, how I wish Jesus was here” or, “I wish Jesus would step through the door and tell me what to do in this situation.”

But this way of thinking isn’t in line with the Bible. Is it time for you to rejoice that you have the Holy Spirit in your life because He will never mislead you! You may need to develop your ability to listen, but the Holy Spirit will always guide you to where you need to be. He is the Spirit of Truth!

This means you can be sure that when the Holy Spirit nudges your heart to do something, it is the right thing to do. When He puts a thought into your mind, it is a right idea. When He guides your spirit, He knows something you don’t and is trying to lead you on the best possible path through the obstacles in your life. He is always the Spirit of Truth, and as the Spirit of Truth, you can rely on the fact He will never mislead you.

The bottom line is this: If we’re going to experience real, supernatural Christian living, we must come to a place of surrender to the Holy Spirit. He is always trying to coach and direct us, even when we’re not listening. He is always as close as our next breath, dwelling in our spirits — speaking, directing, encouraging, and trying to help us make the correct decisions in life. Whether or not we listen to Him, He is still there on the inside of us because that’s the job assignment He received from the Father. So to the extent we decide to listen to our Heavenly Coach and follow His advice, that is the extent we benefit from the Holy Spirit’s role in our lives.

We must learn to trust the Holy Spirit’s leadership and do what He instructs us to do. He is a divine Coach sent by God to help us. For Him to help us, it requires our ears, our hearts, our trust, and our obedience. Anything short of this will produce inferior results, results far short of the supernatural life you really desire. Since He is the Spirit of truth, it means He is completely trustworthy — so put aside your fears and objections and begin to let Him do His job of coaching you. This is Jesus’ guarantee!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, I confess that I have been fearful about following the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Today I admit it; I confess it; and I turn from it. I want to experience the coaching ministry of the Holy Spirit in my life. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. Therefore, I know He will never mislead me. Starting today, I choose to put aside my apprehensions and surrender to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. With Him helping me, I will begin to follow His leading and let Him guide me through life.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

 

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I confess that when the Holy Spirit inspires a thought in my mind to do something, it is right. When He nudges my spirit to do something, I can rest assured that He sees and knows something I don’t know and is trying to guide and direct me according to truth. He is always the Spirit of truth and will never mislead me. I long for real, supernatural Christian living, so I confess by faith that I will surrender to the Holy Spirit. In this act of surrender, I give Him permission to be my Heavenly Coach and Counselor.

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

1. Have you ever really trusted the Holy Spirit’s leadership in your life, or do you typically question whether or not you should do the things He has nudged you to do?
2. If you have been afraid to follow His leadership in the past, what belief about the Person of the Holy Spirit caused you to be fearful?
3. Can you think of a time when you ignored the Holy Spirit’s nudge in your heart, only to discover later that it really was the leading of the Holy Spirit?
4. What was that experience, and what was the result of your not doing what He was prompting you to do?

You Can Make a Difference In Someone Else’s Life!

And of some have compassion, making a difference.
— Jude 1:22

If you are burdened for someone who isn’t serving God the way he used to, it’s time for you to do something about it. Worrying won’t change a thing! But turning that worry into action can make a big difference in the outcome of that other person’s life.

You can make a difference in someone else’s life! That is precisely why Jude 22 tells us, “And of some have compassion, making a difference.” Do you see the word “compassion” in this verse? This important word is taken from the Greek word eleao, which in this case refers to deep-seated and unsettling emotions a person feels when he has seen or heard something that is terribly sad or upsetting.

These are the kinds of emotions that well up inside you when you see a child whose stomach is bloated from malnutrition and starvation. You might also feel these emotions when you see a person who is emaciated and dying of terminal cancer or a destitute family that is forced to live on the streets with no food and money.

Jude’s purpose in using the Greek word eleao is very plain. He is doing exactly what television programs do when they flash pictures of starving children with bloated stomachs on the television screen in front of us. The producers of these programs show us these kinds of worst-scenario pictures in order to stir us to action.

These pictures of desperate misery from Third World countries are flashed in front of us while emotionally moving music plays in the background. Then the celebrity host on the program says in an impassioned voice, “Pick up your phone and call today. Your call could save the life of a child.”

These kinds of television programs are designed to stir up emotional feelings of pity. The producers of the programs realize that simply stating a need verbally would never get our attention; we’re just too mentally busy in today’s society. Therefore, they make the need as graphic as they possibly can, knowing that pictures speak a thousand words and are much more effective in arousing pity from our hearts.

However, arousing pity is not the ultimate aim of these programs. The horrifying pictures and emotional musical background are designed to convince you to pick up your telephone, call the phone number on the television screen, and make a donation to help the cause of the sponsoring organization. This compulsion to act and to do something is the moment when pity is transformed into compassion. By itself, pity would simply feel sorry about the situation. But compassion cannot sit by and idly watch the scenario grow worse. Compassion reaches out to act immediately and to do something about the situation.

It is unmistakably clear that Jude wants to elicit an emotional response from his readers. He wants them to graphically see and understand the seriousness of believers who have backslidden into a life of sin and disobedience. He wants his readers to “feel” for these critically ill spiritual patients. In fact, he wants them to “feel” their condition so intensely that he says, “And of some have compassion.…” In other words, Jude is telling his readers to take that pity and turn it into action!

You see, when genuine compassion begins to flow from your heart, you cannot sit idly by and simply feel sorry about a person’s situation. Real compassion says, “I have to get up and do something about this!”

Because Jude uses the word “compassion,” he is telling us that the spiritual condition of a backslidden believer is just as real and serious as the plight of a starving child, a dying man, or a destitute family. If you will allow the love of God to flow through you, it won’t be long until compassion for these erring believers begins to flow from you to them. Then you will be compelled to see them set free from their bondage! That compulsion is the activity of compassion!

You may think, “Yes, but those believers knew better! If they had stayed faithful in their walk with the Lord, they wouldn’t be in the mess they are in right now. Isn’t it their fault that they’re in trouble?”

The answer to this question may be “Yes, they are to blame for their condition.” However, consider this: Wouldn’t you have compassion on a homosexual who contracted AIDS due to his own illicit sexual activity? Although his own actions got him into his mess, wouldn’t it still grab hold of your heart when you saw his wasting body? Wouldn’t his helpless condition make you wish there was a cure for AIDS?

In the same way, even though a sinning believer may have gotten himself into trouble because of his own actions, we must not therefore shut off the flow of God’s compassion that resides within us. Believers who have become spiritually deceived need a touch of God’s power more than they ever did before! Therefore, we cannot let the enemy sow hardheartedness in our hearts toward people who have become spiritually ill or backslidden. Their plight is very serious, and they need our help and prayers of intercession!

If you know people who fit this description, it’s time for you to let the supernatural compassion of Jesus Christ begin to flow out of your heart toward them. These error-ridden believers need a divine touch from God that will open their eyes and bring them back to the Lord. By releasing a flow of this powerful force toward them, you could set in motion the very deliverance these individuals need from the powers of darkness that bind their souls and keep them in deception.

This is why Jude urges us to release this delivering flow of compassion when he says, “And of some have compassion.…” This kind of compassion is a mighty force that reaches even into the flames of judgment to snatch people from destruction. Why not open the bowels of your heart and allow this supernatural flow of compassion to start flowing through you today? Just think — by opening your heart and letting compassion flow through you toward these people, you could be the very one God uses to bring them back home again!

My Prayer for Today

Lord, please forgive me for being hardhearted, condemning, and judgmental toward people who have needed my prayers and intercession. Instead of wasting all my time judging them, I could have been praying for them. Now I see my mistake, and I truly repent for it. Starting today, I pledge to change my attitude — to open my heart and let the compassion of Jesus Christ flow through me to help set their deliverance in motion. Let Your compassion begin flowing through me today!

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

My Confession for Today

I boldly confess that compassion flows through me like a river! Condemnation and judgment have no place in my life, in my thinking, or in the way I relate to other people. I am filled with the love of God, and I allow that love to touch others who are near me. The bowels of my heart release the compassion of Jesus Christ, touching the lives of people caught in the deception of sin and darkness and setting them free!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Questions to Answer

1. Do you know anyone who is no longer walking with God and for whom you need to be praying and interceding right now?

2. Have you acted in a judgmental way toward a sinning or erring believer — someone who really needs your prayers and intercession, not your condemnation? If your answer is yes, I suggest that you take a few minutes to get your heart right with God and then begin to regularly pray for his or her deliverance.

3. Have you ever been caught in a deception, but someone loved you through it until you were set free and put back on a straight course? Who was that person who stood with you through that ordeal? Did you ever take the time to express your gratefulness for his or her love and patience toward you during that time?

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter….
— John 14:16

Today as we discuss the ministry of the Holy Spirit, I’d like to give you my favorite translation of the word “Comforter” that encapsulates all the meaning we’ve learned thus far. There are many possible translations for the word “Comforter,” but the one that seems to satisfy me the most is the word “coach,” because it conveys the meaning of the Greek word parakletos so well. Jesus’ words in John 14:16 could read: “I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Coach….”

The word “Coach” perfectly describes Jesus’ role toward His disciples during the three years they had walked with Him. He had been their Leader, Teacher, Mentor, Revelator, Prophet, Miracle-Worker, Healer, Pastor, and Lord. They did nothing without Him, and everything they did, He had shown them how to do. He was the center of their lives, the focal point of their attention, and their Mentor in everything.

Jesus was the One who sent the disciples out to spread the message of the Gospel, and He imparted the message they preached. He gave them authority to cast out demons, and He taught them how and when to address demon spirits and lay hands on the sick. Jesus showed His disciples how to deal with religious leaders and how to conduct themselves as ministers of the Gospel. He taught them how to build a ministry and even how to handle money in the ministry (see Matthew 10:5-14). For three years, the disciples carefully followed the Master’s orders and dared not take a step without consulting Him first. In the truest meaning of the word, Jesus had been their Coach.

But at that Passover Supper, Jesus was letting the disciples know it was time to leave them and fulfill His divine destiny on the Cross. So He told them, “I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Comforter….” Or as we’ve seen today, we can paraphrase it to say, “I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Coach….”

The good news is that the Holy Spirit has come to teach us everything we need to know — if we’ll listen to Him as the disciples listened to Jesus. As we cooperate with the Holy Spirit and allow Him to do what He was sent to do in our lives, He will coach us as Jesus coached the disciples.

Just think! You have a Partner residing inside your heart who knows all the answers you need. He is ready to give you not only the winning game plan, but also the strength and courage you need to achieve victory!

So many people have known the Lord for years — which means the Holy Spirit has been living in their hearts all that time — yet they didn’t know they were supposed to have this kind of dynamic partnership with the Holy Spirit I’m describing. But God wants us to know the Holy Spirit in a personal way. He wants us to begin relying on the Holy Spirit in the same way the disciples relied on Jesus. Just as Jesus was a Coach to His disciples during His time on this earth, we must think of the Holy Spirit as our Coach.

So what exactly does a coach do? Let’s look at few common examples:

• A baseball coach teaches you how to swing that bat and hit the ball. He shows you how to run from base to base and how to use your glove to catch the ball. He says, “Hold the bat at the base with your hands wrapped around it like this. Then when you see that ball coming, swing as hard as you can and hit that ball as far as you can!”
• An acting coach teaches you how to become an actor. He will coach you on how to become more convincing, more dramatic, or more comical, and he will even teach you how to cry when tears are necessary for a certain scene.
• A vocal coach will teach you how to sing, how to make your breath last longer, how to push air from your diaphragm, how to make a sound stronger, how to sing on key, and to how to sing in a way that truly represents the emotional content of the music. If you make a mistake while you are practicing, a vocal coach will stop you right in the middle of a song to correct you, instruct you, and then tell you to go for it again.

Fundamentally, a coach teaches, advises, corrects, instructs, trains, tutors, guides, directs, and prepares you for your upcoming assignment. If you are new at what you are doing, his coaching may include a little coaxing as you develop your confidence. A coach will encourage you as he shows you what you did wrong so you can do it right the next time.

Furthermore, a coach isn’t there to hit the ball for you, sing the note for you, or play the scene for you. He’s there to coach you so you can hit the ball, sing the note, and perform as you should. Like an apprentice learning a new job, if you will listen carefully, the Holy Spirit will direct and guide you. He’ll show you what’s needed. He’ll open your eyes; impress your mind with supernatural direction; bring you up by the hand; and develop, foster, improve, and “break you in” on the things of God and the things of life.

As believers, we must learn to take the Holy Spirit’s advice and follow Him implicitly, taking each one of our cues from Him. He must become our Heavenly Coach, and we must learn to accept His leadership and be willing to yield and concede to His divine guidance with no objections. If we will open our hearts to the ministry of the Holy Spirit, He will do everything that Jesus did. He will coach; He will teach; and He will be a Helper. He will be there to teach us how to pack our bags, how to travel, what to say, and how to pray for the sick. He will do everything that Jesus would do, because He is a Coach to us in the same way that Jesus was a Coach to the disciples.

Today I urge you to open your heart to the coaching ministry of Holy Spirit. Simply say, “Holy Spirit, be my Coach.” The truth is, He was sent to be your Coach whether you recognize it or not. But as you open your heart to the Holy Spirit — listening to Him and diligently following every aspect of His instruction in His role as your Coach in life — this I can promise you: It won’t be long until you look back on who you were before you made the decision to allow the Holy Spirit to be your Coach, and you’ll know beyond a shadow of a doubt that your decision started a process that has completely changed your life!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, I thank You for sending the Holy Spirit to mentor, teach, advise, correct, instruct, train, tutor, guide, direct, and prepare me for my upcoming assignment. From this moment forward I am going to start thinking of the Holy Spirit as my personal Coach. I will open my spiritual ears to listen to His instruction, I will obey what He tells me to do, and I will carefully implement the instructions I hear Him speak to my heart and mind. You send the Holy Spirit as a Coach to teach me, so I don’t have to figure everything out on my own. So from this moment onward, I position myself as a pupil to the Holy Spirit, who is my divine Coach.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

 

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I declare by faith that I am a willing, obedient, and teachable apprentice of the Holy Spirit! He speaks to my heart, tells me what to do or what actions to take, and I do exactly what I am told to do. My courage to obey is getting stronger by the day. As a result of listening to the Holy Spirit and taking my cues from Him, I am growing in my walk with the Lord, developing more confidence and experiencing greater victories day by day!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

1. Have you ever experienced a moment when the Holy Spirit coached you on what to say or how to act in a certain situation?
2. Here’s an example: Has the Holy Spirit ever led you in the way you witnessed to an unbeliever? You naturally didn’t know how to do it, but word-by-word and moment-by-moment, you felt led in what to say as you shared Christ with that person? Have you experienced such a moment in your life?
3. Can you think of an area where you need to stop trying to figure everything out by yourself and just allow the Holy Spirit to start coaching you on what to say and what actions to take?

Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth

And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
— Matthew 25:30

When I was a boy growing up in the church, I would frequently hear preachers use the phrase “weeping and gnashing of teeth” as a part of their sermons, especially if they were preaching on the subject of eternal damnation. Every time I heard the phrase “weeping and gnashing of teeth,” I wondered, What does that phrase mean? What is weeping and gnashing of teeth?

The answer to this question is found in the story of the master who gave talents to three of his servants. As we already saw in yesterday’s Sparkling Gem, Jesus called the lazy servant in that parable a “wicked and slothful servant.” The words “wicked and slothful” both come from the single Greek word okneros. This word means lazy or idle. It carries the idea of a person who has a do-nothing, lethargic, lackadaisical, apathetic, indifferent, lukewarm attitude toward life.

Jesus used this parable to teach those of us who are His followers what He expects of us. The master in the parable vividly illustrates Jesus’ sentiments toward people who have great potential but who are too lazy to get up, get out of the house, and do something to develop the potential that has been entrusted to them. Friend, we need to pay careful attention to the message in this parable, because how Jesus sees things is how we must see things!

Notice that the master in this parable said, “Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents” (v. 28). This would be the response of any employer who discovered a time-waster on his staff. Rather than throw away more time waiting for an unprofitable, non-productive person to get with the program, a smart employer will take his responsibility from him and give it to someone he knows can get the job done right!

Jesus continued, “For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath” (v. 29). Here again we find a powerful truth: Those who are good performers and whom the boss can trust to get things done will always have a very full plate of responsibility. The employer trusts this employee’s ability and appreciates his willingness to do whatever necessary to complete the assigned task with excellence. Therefore, he keeps piling more and more on this person whom he knows he can trust! This is precisely what Jesus meant when he said, “For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance….”

But Jesus also said, “…But from him that hath not shall be taken even that which he hath.” A good way to make sure that you get no pay increase or promotion and possibly even get fired is to do a poor job. Poor jobs should not be rewarded.

Rewards are given to those who deserve them. If a person consistently fails to do his job correctly or on time, or if he consistently does his assigned task with a grumpy, complaining attitude, he shouldn’t be surprised when the new and bigger assignments are delegated to someone else besides him!

This leads us to Jesus’ statement about “weeping and gnashing of teeth” in Matthew 25:30. It says, “And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” The word “unprofitable” is the Greek word achreios, which literally means useless. A literal translation in today’s vernacular would be the good-for-nothing servant.

But notice that the master in this parable said to “cast” this servant “into outer darkness.” The word “cast” is the word ekballo, from the words ek and ballo. The word ek means out, and the word ballo means to throw. Together these words mean to expel, to throw out, to drive out, or to kick out. This word pictures the master saying, “Throw him out…”; “Kick the guy out of the organization…”; “Expel him as quickly as you can…”; “Toss him out of here….” The Greek expresses such total intolerance for laziness and non-productivity that the master wants the unprofitable servant gone as quickly as possible!

The master said to cast the unprofitable servant into “outer darkness.” Let me explain this to you, because it is very important to the truth in this parable.

It is a fact that in New Testament times, almost every large city had huge stone city walls that protected the city from intruders and from lions who roamed the countryside. The residents of the city often dumped their garbage over the top of the walls in certain parts of the city, allowing the trash to fall and build up around the base of the huge stone walls. Because this garbage included unused food, lions from the countryside would come to the base of the city walls late at night — when it was very dark — to pillage the trash and look for food.

These huge piles of trash became sites where authorities tried to determine the guilt or innocence of individuals suspected of crimes but not concretely proven to be guilty. The authorities would tie the suspected criminal with rope and lower him to the base of the city walls during the darkest hours of the night — right into the midst of the garbage where the lions roamed every night. If they found the suspect alive the next morning, he was judged to be innocent of his crime. If he had been devoured, it was assumed that he had been guilty of the crime of which he had been accused.

Even if the victim was found alive the next morning, he was usually insane or on the verge of total insanity. In fact, his teeth were usually ground down by his own nervous gnashing and grinding of his teeth as the lions prowled and roared all around him all night long. This is where we get the phrase “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” It was derived from this experience of suffering agony and even insanity as a result of being cast into outer darkness.

Why would Jesus use this example to depict the unprofitable servant who was kicked out of the business or organization? Well, just imagine what this person would feel like after being kicked out for doing a poor job. Later he would see others doing exactly what he had once been asked to do but what he had refused or failed to do because he was too lazy. That experience would be pure agony for him! It would be so difficult to watch someone else in his position — doing what he used to do, getting the promotion he could have gotten, achieving the greatness he should have achieved. To know that all of this could have been his if he hadn’t forfeited it through his own wrong attitude and laziness — that would be agony for anyone!

So many people have had great ideas, but because they pondered the idea for too long without acting on it, someone else finally came up with the same idea — and then went out and did something about it! The person who originally came up with the idea sees someone else prospering with the idea he had first. How do you think that makes him feel? He knows it could have been him experiencing that prosperity and success, but now it’s too late. His hesitation to act or his laziness prevented him from getting up and putting that idea into action; as a result, the opportunity passed on to someone who was willing to do something with the idea.

Do you know anyone who has experienced such agony due to his own lack of faith to step out and act on his dream? Do you fit this description yourself?

I pray that I haven’t just described you! The last thing Jesus wants is for you to experience “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” But honestly, friend, it’s up to you. If you do nothing with the abilities and opportunities God gives you, you can be certain that those privileged opportunities for success will pass to someone who is willing to do something with them. The opportunity can be yours, or it can be taken from you. But if it is taken from you, it will be agony to your soul when you see someone else standing in your dream.

That’s why I am begging you — please don’t make this mistake! God has given you gifts, callings, and dreams to fulfill. Now it’s up to you to step out in faith and DO something with what He has given you! 

My Prayer for Today

Lord, help me understand how to act on the ideas You have placed in my heart. I don’t want to be like the unprofitable servant who was thrown into outer darkness and experienced weeping and gnashing of teeth. I want to stand in the reality of the dream You have put in my heart. Please give me wisdom and courage to step out and begin to fulfill the dream You birthed so deeply inside my soul. I need You, Holy Spirit. I ask You to stir up Your courage inside me and help me to get moving!

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

My Confession for Today

I confess that I’m not lazy or afraid to step out in faith. I am filled with God’s wonderful ideas, and I will do what He has put in my heart. I am not hesitant or fearful but rather bold, courageous, and ready to go! God is my Helper; therefore, I will not be afraid. I will not fear what man can do to me, for the Lord is with me! He directs my mind; He guides my steps; and His Word lights my path before me.

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Questions to Answer

1. Have you ever experienced “weeping and gnashing of teeth” from watching someone else step into your dream or your position because you failed to do it first?

2. If your answer is yes, did you ask Jesus to forgive you for being so faithless, afraid, hesitant, or lazy? If you haven’t asked Him to forgive you yet, don’t you think it would be a good idea to find a quiet place where you can really talk to the Lord about this?

3. If you have truly repented of your past actions, Jesus has forgiven you. Are you open for Him to give you another dream or opportunity when He sees that you’re ready for the next assignment?